The Epson EcoTank ET-4850 is an all-in-one inkjet printer. It has a refillable ink tank instead of ink cartridges and uses Epson's 502 ink. It has a 250-sheet input tray and supports automatic duplex printing. The scanner has an automatic feeder but doesn't support duplex scanning. Its connectivity options include USB, Wi-Fi, and Ethernet, and it also supports Apple AirPrint and Mopria Print Service.
Our Verdict
The Epson EcoTank ET-4850 is great for family use. It has plenty of connectivity options, including Wi-Fi and USB, so it's easy for every household member to access. It produces sharp documents, prints reasonably quickly, and doesn't cost much to maintain due to its high page yields and cheap ink. It isn't a bad choice for photo printing either; it can reproduce a wide range of colors and does a good job of rendering very fine details, though it tends to oversaturate some colors, and the pictures also look a tad grainy. The scanner has an automatic feeder, although it only processes up to five pages per minute and doesn't support duplex scanning.
- Produces high-quality documents.
- Produces detailed and colorful photos.
- Wide connectivity options and mobile app support.
- Poor color accuracy.
- Photos look slightly grainy.
The Epson EcoTank ET-4850 is great for small or home offices. It produces high-quality documents and doesn't require much maintenance, thanks to its exceptionally high page yields. Its overall printing speed is okay; it's reasonably fast with black-and-white documents; however, it's slow with color documents, and it takes a while to wake from an idle state. Unfortunately, although the scanner has an automatic feeder and produces very detailed scans, it doesn't support duplex scanning.
- Produces high-quality documents.
- Sturdy build and easy access to paper jams.
- No duplex scanning.
- Slow to wake from an idle state.
The Epson EcoTank ET-4850 is an adequate pick if you want a printer that requires minimal upkeep. It's still an inkjet, so if you let it sit too long, the printheads can clog. It's recommended to print something every now and then to keep the ink from drying out. The high-capacity flushing system clears minor clogs and lets you run several deep cleanings without refilling the tanks. But if a clog gets too severe, you don't have many options since you can't replace the printheads yourself. On the plus side, the large ink tanks deliver excellent page yields, so you won't have to refill often, and the wide range of connectivity options makes printing from almost any device easy.
- Exceptional page yields; low running costs.
- Low maintenance.
- Wide connectivity options and mobile app support.
- Slow to wake from an idle state.
Can clog if it's left unused.
The Epson ET-4850 is good for photo printing. It can reproduce a wide range of colors and very fine details in photos. However, its color accuracy isn't great, as it tends to oversaturate some colors like blues and greens, and color transitions look grainy. As for its cost-per-print, its ink tank yields thousands of prints, so you won't have to worry about high maintenance costs, even if you print a lot.
- Produces detailed and colorful photos.
- Sturdy build and easy access to paper jams.
- Poor color accuracy.
- Photos look slightly grainy.
The Epson EcoTank ET-4850 offers incredible page yields. You'll be able to print thousands of pages before you have to refill your ink cartridges.
- Exceptional page yields; low running costs.
The Epson EcoTank ET-4850 pushes out a respectable 14 black pages per minute. It slows down with color documents and photos, though, and it takes its time waking up from idle to print a single page.
Reasonably quick.
The Epson EcoTank ET-4850 delivers outstanding print quality. Text looks sharp, and fine details like graph lines stay crisp and easy to read. The color areas look grainy, and you'll notice some minor vertical banding.
- Produces high-quality documents.
The Epson EcoTank ET-4850 has a great scanner. It produces outstanding scans. It captures very fine details, and its image processing enhances contrast and color saturation for a vibrant result. That extra punch helps text documents stand out, but it can make photo scans look less true to the original. You get an ADF, though it doesn't support duplex scanning. The flatbed hinges adjust slightly, so you can scan thicker items like textbooks or magazines without trouble.
Outstanding scan quality.
Includes an automatic document feeder.
- No duplex scanning.
Performance Usages
Changelog
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Updated Feb 27, 2026:
We've updated text throughout the review after converting to Test Bench 1.3.
- Updated Jan 30, 2026: We've updated the review to Test Bench 1.3, which adds a number of test boxes including Risk of Clogging and Ease of Unclogging. We also updated the Usage and Performance boxes at the top of the review to better integrate the new aspects covered. See the changelog.
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Updated Jan 15, 2026:
Changed the ink name from T502 to 502 throughout the review for consistency.
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Updated Oct 08, 2025:
Added a reference to the Epson EcoTank ET-4950 in the Scanner Features test box as an alternative with duplex scanning.
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Differences Between Sizes And Variants
We tested the Epson EcoTank ET-4850. It's also sold as the Epson EcoTank ET-4856 in some European countries. Our review applies to both models.
| Model | Notes |
|---|---|
| Epson EcoTank ET-4850 | - |
| Epson EcoTank ET-4850 Special Edition | Includes an additional bottle of black ink |
| Epson EcoTank ET-4856 | European model |
You can see our unit's label here.
Popular Printer Comparisons
The Epson ET-4850 is a great printer overall. It stands out for its high page yields and wide color gamut. However, you can easily find cheaper models that perform just as well.
For more options, see our recommendations for the best home printers, the best inkjet printers, and the best printers with cheap ink.
The Epson EcoTank ET-4850 is better than the Epson EcoTank ET-4800 for most uses. The ET-4850's build feels sturdier, and its design is more user-friendly, as it makes it easier to access the sheet rollers. It also produces higher-quality black-and-white documents, prints faster, and yields significantly more pages. The ET-4850 has a slightly wider color range; however, the ET-4800 reproduces colors more accurately, and it brings out more details in photos.
The Epson EcoTank ET-4850 is almost identical to the Epson EcoTank ET-3850. There are a couple of minor yet important differences. Feature-wise, the ET-4850 offers fax capability, whereas the ET-3850 does not, and design-wise, the ET-4850 has a touch-sensitive display and a dampener to prevent the scanner bed from slamming shut.
The Epson EcoTank ET-4950 is the successor to the Epson EcoTank ET-4850. It's very similar overall, but it does show some interesting improvements. It delivers much better color accuracy, which makes a difference in the photo print quality. It also adds duplex scanning to the package, which is a nice bonus if you often handle these types of documents.
The Epson EcoTank ET-2800/ET-2803 and the Epson EcoTank ET-4850 are both all-in-one supertank printers, but the ET-4850 performs much better overall. The ET-4850 is more feature-rich, with an automatic document feeder and Ethernet connectivity, and it performs better, with higher page yields for both black and color documents, faster printing speeds, and better-quality black and color documents. On the other hand, the ET-2800 produces better-looking photos with more details and better color accuracy.
Test Results
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